The Thing About Blondes and Bad Boys
by degrassi4eva
Summary: EmmaJay. That's right. Emma... and Jay... After Sean and Emma break up (again) Emma and Jay are assigned to each other in a Film Studies project. The feelings they hold for each other are strong, but are they sure it's all hate?
1. The On and Off Couple

Emma/Sean, Emma/Chris, Emma/Jay, I've heard it all! So I've decided to do a story for each. Starting with the hard one, Emma/Jay. DON'T FREAK OUT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Just read, and maybe you'll like it! I MIGHT change it to Emma/Sean or Emma/Chris if I don't like writing the pairing, but...

BUT IF I GET ONE FLAME I SWEAR IT WILL STAY THE SAME NO MATTER WHAT!!!!!!!!

Ok.... now that that's out of my system, here's the story

((EmJay=o.o))

Jay watched with amusement as his good buddy, Sean, stormed into the room. His lips were pursed tightly together, as if he was afraid he might scream, and his eyes were wide and dark with anger. He was silent for a long while after entering the tech lab. That is, until he tried to kick a hole in the wall. The loud slam of shoe against concrete could be heard resounding throughout the school. Jay chuckled.

"Somethin' botherin' you, killer?" Jay asked, amused but concerned.

Sean laughed bitterly. "Me and Emma ... we're history."

"Again?"

"For real this time." Sean answered, his head hung as if he were ashamed. "It's over."

Jay had heard those words before. Sean and that blonde chick, Emma, were on-and-off like a tv soap opera. He didn't know what kept Sean's interest. She wasn't even that pretty. Sure, he'd seen the chick; blonde, skinny, flat as a board. He'd been around her and Sean's conversations more than once. She was little miss goody-two-shoes, and she played the part to a T. Environment nut, conservative clothes, he knew she had never had sex.

Jesus, what was the world coming to if such girls still existed?

Jay leaped over the table and grabbed Sean's arm, stopping him from slamming it into the wall.

"Slow down, man. What's got you so upset about it? To me it's a relief. Ding, dong, the witch is dead." Sean's arm went limp in his hands, and he let go to cross the room to Mr. Simpson's desk.

"Yeah..." Sean laughed bitterly. "But you don't know her. You don't know Emma."

Jay rolled his eyes. _What's there to know? You're a glutton for punishment, Cameron._

The door opened and both heads turned. Emma was standing in the doorway and looking at Sean with a glare that could make even Jay back up.

"What are you doing in the tech lab, Sean? Looking for my dad's NEW laptop?" She said, eyes full of fire. That time Jay actually _did_ back up.

"Emma, I-"

"You're sorry?" She scoffed, stalking straight towards him like an angry tiger. Her eyes were narrowed, but their fire burned brighter than ever. "How many times have I heard that, Sean? And how many times have you simply broken my heart all over again? I can't trust your words. I don't need to listen to them now."

Jay was back behind the table by now.

"Em-"

"Forget it." She threw Sean an old hoodie she had in her hands and walked out the door. Sean looked down at the old, scuffed up hoodie. It was his, but he had lent it to Emma one winter morning to keep her warm.

"Jesus, that was scary. What do you see in that?" Jay asked from behind the table. Sean looked back at Jay with sad eyes.

"More than you'll ever know." Sean answered, before walking out the door with a more than unhappy look on his face.

Jay scoffed to himself. _Yeah, right. The little blonde's pathetic. She's got nothin' but her 'save the whales' signs to keep her warm at night. Cameron's got problems if he likes a chick like that._

He laughed to himself, thinking just how awkward it would be for Sean and Emma these next couple weeks until the two got back together. He knew the story. Sean would date around like a maniac, while Emma would hook up with that DJ. The DJ would corner Emma about still liking Sean, and she'll have to admit it. Then the two will get back together for a little while, and then they'll break up and start the cycle all over again.

Jay found it all very comical.

Hearing the bell ring, he grabbed his stuff and made his way towards Film Studies. It was an elective he took because he thought it would be a breeze. But, today, he knew this was not the case. Cameron's girl had the same class as he did.

He knew the little blonde would be seething and looking for something to kill.

((EmJay=o.o))

Emma was not exactly looking forward to her Film Studies course. She knew HE would be there.

Jay. He was the guy who started it all! If he hadn't come in and turned Sean into another one of his posse, maybe they would still be together right now.

_No, wait, if Sean hadn't been such an IDIOT maybe I would still be seeing him. This has nothing to do with that slime he hangs out with._

Emma decided she couldn't let it get the best of her. These feelings for Sean had to stop. Maybe if she threw her energy into something else, they would go away. She thought about what she could do. Every option that came to mind just didn't work. She needed something to keep her AWAY from Sean.

And then, she saw it.

A Poster. For the school play.

_Passion_

Her eyes narrowed. Her mother had told her about that play. And as the title suggests, it does involve sex. It also involves sensitive issues surrounding insanity. She was very sure this was not the type of play they were allowed to show in school.

Bursting through the door of the Film Studies class, she knew exactly what to do:

Protest the Play.

Sitting down, she began drawing up ideas for peaceful protests. Signs, slogans, flyers distributed OUTSIDE school grounds.

She would bring this play down.

"Alright, class." came the voice of their new Film Studies teacher, Mrs. Dwight. "Today I am going to assign you a project. You will work in pairs. Themes are in every movie, you see them. Your assignment is to explain them. You will pick one repetitive theme out of the box, and then create a poster, diagram, and speech using examples from movies you've seen."

Emma smiled. This would be fun.

"Alright, first pairing, Emma and Jay. Come up and pick a theme."

Emma's smile faded. She turned to Jay, who also appeared unhappy.

Maybe not.


	2. The Hopeless Rebound

Ok, second chapter!!!

(no flames so far. You guys are so nice!)

(())

Emma stared at the theme she had just drawn from the box on the desk.

_The Death Dynamic_.

Inwardly, she groaned. She was pretty sure she was _going_ to die if she had to do this whole project with Jay. Jay, who was the closest person to the one situation she would rather not think about. The one who could've even _caused_ this situation to occur.

_No, it's Sean's fault. If he wasn't such a stupid IDIOT maybe I would still be with him right now. _She sighed and thought about the weeks ahead of her. She would have to work. With Jay. Together. Most likely in the same room, since they had to make a poster.

She heard the bell ring, and grabbed her backpack. She saw Jay out of the corner of her eye. He was lounging in his desk like a king, blatantly staring at her, hands folded across his chest. She turned to look back at him, trying to remain calm. He was scrutinizing her. Looking her up and down, slowly, as if he wanted to make sure of what he saw. His eyes seemed to pierce her very soul.

Her heartbeats quickened. Something about that stare... It was enough to make most girls go wild. But Emma was not the type of girl to let a pair of baby-blues spin her into a frenzy. So, she sighed, closing her eyes for a moment to shake the unwelcome feelings out of her system. But when she opened them again, she saw he was still staring, this time with a smirk making its way across his lips.

"We'll meet in the library. After school. If you have a problem, don't come. Understand?" She stated, with all the annoyance she felt tossed toward him like a well-packed medicine-ball. Smirk growing, he nodded.

"Anything else?" Emma asked curtly, noticing he was still staring. She put her hand on her hip and tapped her foot on the ugly green tiles they had set on the floor of the Film Studies Room, just to make sure Jay knew she was annoyed.

"Yeah," Jay said calmly. He moved to lean on his elbow, holding his face with his hand. Moving his piercing gaze to look into her eyes, his smirk widened to a cheeky grin.

"What'd my boy Cameron do this time?" He drawled, voice thick as maple syrup. Emma felt a new flash of anger burn into her heart.

"Mind your own business." she clipped, turning her annoyed stare into a glare in a split-second. Jay seemed a little shocked at her words and tone, grin vanishing as quickly as it came. She turned and walked quickly out the door, trying to avoid looking back at that infuriating, intoxicating stare.

(())

Jay was stunned by Emma's harsh words and tone. Usually, that stare he gave worked wonders. It was classic. Golden. It made girls melt at his feet, or run away scared. But never once had it been greeted with icy words and annoyance. Until now. Of course, he wasn't trying to seduce her or anything. He was just examining her, while at the same time stirring her up a bit. The latter seemed to fail.

He stood, grabbing his books. He could ditch his last period to get to the library before her. He knew she would figure out how he got there so quick, and be pissed off even more. He smirked to himself. He didn't exactly like the idea of facing the little blonde's wrath, but still...

He had to admit, the chick was a little cute when she got angry.

In a scary kind of way.

And not that he thought she was cute or anything.

He stopped walking long enough to shake himself out of that train of thought. Looking to his right, he saw that DJ nodding his head to the music his headphones were playing. The guy looked up at Jay, and instantly glared.

_Oh great. Another person hates my guts. Just peachy._ He smirked at him, just to piss him off, and waited.

"What's your problem, man?" The DJ took off his headphones and crossed the hallway.

"Just wanted to let you know, the blonde dumped Cameron's ass earlier today. She's fair game." He smirked at the DJ kid, who slowly let a smile creep across his face. Jay, figuring he did his good deed of the year, walked straight into the library without taking a backwards glance.

_Stupid loser. Always the rebound. What's so hot about this chick anyway? She's got Cameron wrapped around her ring-finger, and the DJ under her thumb. Is there something in the water?_

He perused the bookshelves, looking for something to keep him entertained. Shakespear, Orwell, Dickinson, they all meant absolutely nothing to him. He was looking for something that WOULDN'T put him to sleep.

After forty-five minutes of browsing, the bell rang, and he sat at a table to wait. After about five minutes, he saw Emma's slim figure brush through the half-open door of the library. She was smiling cheerfully. Jay knew exactly what had happened.

"So, you and the DJ are an item again. La-di-freakin'-da." he said, smirking. He had rested his feet on the table, crossed at the ankles, and was leaning back in his chair. He looked like he was king of the world. He liked it that way.

Emma turned to give him a sour look. Then she sighed, and moved to sit in front of him. She set her bag down on the table. "Let's get this over and done with, so I don't have to look at your ugly face again."

"Oh, jeeze Blondie, that really hurt." He said, sarcasm dripping off every word.

"You're lucky." Emma countered boldly. Jay may have been an idiot sometimes, but he wasn't stupid enough to piss her off too much. It wasn't as if he really wanted to be hanging off the stick of one of those protest signs.

"Our theme is 'The Death Dynamic'." She stated calmly, rifling through her bag.

He could already tell this was going to be a very... interesting meeting.


	3. The Embarrassing Situation

.... I am SO relieved. I thought I was gonna get a ton of flames!!

(())

Emma watched as Jay calmly removed his feet from the table. He had that smirk on his face that could be taken one of two ways: indignant or seductive. She was guessing it was meant as the former. She rifled through her backpack to take out a spiral notebook. She tore out a piece of paper and handed it to Jay without looking at him. She felt his eyes on her the entire time.

Finally, she looked up and saw the smirk had become a cheeky grin.

"So, Blondie, you never answered my question before. Wassup with you and Cameron?"

"Yes I did," Emma answered. "I said 'Mind your own business'" He raised his eyebrows and let his grin dissolve.

"My, my, aren't we touchy?" Jay mocked. "What? Did he get stupid enough to mess up one of your precious 'save the whale' signs?"

"No, he didn't." She stated icily. She reached into her backpack and pulled out a pen, writing their theme on top of the page she had ripped out for herself. Her anger was swelling inside her, and she was pretty sure she would kill him if he didn't drop it.

"Or was it worse? Did he, gasp! Try to kiss you _with tongue?_" He feigned a shudder at the thought.

Suddenly, Emma stood and banged both hands on the table, leaning over it to look straight in Jays eyes. Jay, however, seemed fairly unfazed.

"Jay, shut up. I mean it." She whispered threateningly.

It was the stare-down of the century. Neither soul was willing to give in, Jay with his incredibly entrancing stare, and Emma with her fiery rage-filled glare. The battle lasted for nearly two minutes before Jay looked away.

"Let's get started." he stated. He picked up his pencil and wrote their theme on the top of his paper as well.

"Fine." said Emma, sitting back down slowly. She wasn't sure exactly what made her heartbeat quicken its pace during those last few seconds, but she was glad to find it was slowing. She also wasn't sure exactly how that pompous jerk sitting in front of her was making her head spin. She hated to admit it, but she did find the school's resident convict... a little attractive, in a wicked kind of way. He was more than a little annoying, though, and she was surprised she hadn't pulled his head off .

_Besides... I'm with Chris..._ she thought to herself half-heartedly.

"So, what, the topic's death, right? Death in the movies? Ok, I've seen the psycho-killer stuff more than once, so we're good." Jay said, interrupting her thoughts. He took notes, apparently what he had just said. Emma simply wrote 'Psycho-killers' on her paper.

"That's good. But we need other stuff too. Like the sad movies. 'A Walk To Remember'. Or Comedic stuff, like 'Jawbreaker'. You know, that stuff." Emma reached into her bag to grab another pen, as her first one just ran out of ink, and ended up dropping it off the end of the table at Jay's side.

Out fell the flyers she had just printed up to protest the play.

_DOWN WITH PASSION!_

Oops.

(())

Jay looked down at the pile of papers on the floor, and nearly laughed. He'd heard the school was doing a play. 'Passion'? What the hell was that? He'd never even heard of it. _But the title sounds promising..._ he thought, picking up a flyer. He gave Emma a smirk.

"'Passion'? You're protesting a play called 'Passion'? Are you KIDDING me?" He said, looking from the flyer, to her, and back to the flyer again.

She glared at him. "The play is inappropriate. It involves sex and sensitive issues surrounding insanity."

He knew he was probably going to regret it, but he just had to play with this one. He couldn't help himself.

"And this doesn't have anything to do with the blatantly known fact that you've never had any... _passion_ yourself, does it?" he asked snidely. Emma glowered at him and he held back snickers.

"No. It doesn't." She picked up the papers and arranged them in a stack.

"Are you sure?" he asked in a faintly seductive tone. Emma took a deep breath before she answered.

"Yes, I am. Now, back to this." She put the papers back into her bag, avoiding Jay's lengthy stare.

Jay was laughing like hell inside. It was just too funny, too typical. The goody-two-shoes protesting a play that had sex in it. He really needed to play with this a little more some time. Bit by bit he was starting to see what pushed Emma past her icy attitude. He was now sure of his own assessment. Emma was definitely the uptight, stuck-up, goody-goody tree-hugger he thought she was. It was too priceless. He was most definitely not going to give this one up. That play was going to be hanging over her head until she was out of highschool/his life forever.

Emma jotted down a few more notes. "Plus, there's a ton of movies about people trying to cash in on wills. In fact, I bet if we counted all the movies that involved death in the plot's main format, I'd bet we'd come up with thousands. Death causes great feelings, usually feelings of grief, anger, or some kind of passion." Emma looked like she wanted to take that last word back, but it was too late. Jay had caught it, and he was going to jump on it.

"You know, I think you just can't get your mind off that play..." He began with a smirk.

"Just drop it, okay?" Emma stated. "I have to go, anyway." She stood quickly, grabbing her bag and heading for the door. Jay watched her go and smirked to himself.

_The blonde may be uptight, and seriously stubborn..._

_ But..._

_ She is kinda cute when she gets all flustered like that..._

Jay folded his hands behind his head as he leaned back in his chair. He would hold that over her head for the entire project. If he could, that is. He knew it wouldn't be long before she and Cameron got back together again and got all lovey-dovey. This would bring his taunts to an end if he wanted to keep Cameron around.

Emma... The chick had guts. He couldn't name another girl who really charged at him like she did. When she got angry, he had learned by watching Sean that everyone should get out of the way... FAST. When she wanted her voice heard, she shouted at the top of her lungs and made sure everyone knew her opinion. If she wanted to protest a play, he was pretty sure she would bring it down.

He'd never really known a girl like that.

Sighing, Jay picked up his backpack. He stuck the flyer in it and walked out the door.


	4. The Bad Boy

Emma entered school the next day, flyers in hand, scowl on her face. She was still angry about what Jay had said the day before. So what if she'd never had any... passion? It wasn't as if that was a bad thing! They were in highschool for crying out loud! They should be worried about grades and first dates, not condoms and birth control!

Since it was still early, hardly anyone else was in the building. She began taping the flyers all over lockers, doors, and even outside windows. She wondered in the back of her mind if anyone would know she was the one doing it. Then she laughed at herself, realizing exactly how obvious it would all seem.

_I'm the School Goody-Goody, remember? _She chuckled to herself as the voice of Jay resounded in her mind. They may know who did it, but what evidence did they have?And it wasn't as if they could pin anything on her without evidence, right?

She turned to admire her handiwork: The entire hallway was covered in the flyers she had printed yesterday. She smiled, satisfied that this definitely would not escape the attentions of Degrassi's student population.

"You missed a locker."

Emma whirled around to face the speaker, surprised to find anyone in school this early. She was even more surprised when she realized who she was facing.

Jay.

A confident smirk slid across his lips as they made eye-contact. Emma wanted to back away, run away. She didn't want to be near him after what had happened the other day. But she knew she had to stand her ground. It was cowardly to run. And Emma Nelson was no coward. She turned the rest of the way toward him and looked him straight in the eye. The action seemed to surprise Jay. Emma knew he expected her to shout, or threaten, or at least walk away to ignore him. But this, a face to face confrontation, this was something he wasn't prepared for.

Their eyes locked, two confused but stubborn souls, lost on what to do next. Finally, Jay stepped closer to her.

"I said, you missed a locker. Your old boyfriends', to be exact. What a coincidence." He half-whispered, moving almost dangerously close to the blonde. Emma wrapped her arms around herself defensively and looked down the hallway toward Sean's locker. She had left it alone, as she didn't want him involved in anything that had to do with her.

But, of course, she'd never let Jay know that.

"Yeah. What a coincidence." She said in monotone, not really caring about what she said, as long as it enabled her to get away from Jay. "Now, if you'll excuse me-" Jay grabbed her arm as she tried to escape.

Spark.

It was as if her body was on fire. Emma could feel heart begin to race in a way that she was sure would cause the ribs above it to break if it kept that pace much longer, but she didn't care because it felt more than good. She felt like she didn't need to breathe, which was good, because she couldn't anyway. She couldn't do much of anything except turn around to look at....

Jay.

Everything immediately came to a crashing halt when she realized exactly who she was feeling this for.

Jay.

The guy who was more-than-a-little responsible for Snake's laptop going missing.

The guy who seemed to get under Emma's skin worse than even Sean.

The guy who practically twisted Sean into his little puppet.

Jay was looking down at her the same way she was looking at him. A look of disbelief and contempt.

_How could I feel anything for THAT?! _That kind of look.

Emma ripped her arm out of his grasp, gave him a scathing glare, and walked quickly down the hall.

Out of Jay's reach.

(())

Jay went through most of his day in a daze. He had felt something when he'd touched her. Not that he _felt_ anything for her. Of course not. How could anyone ever feel anything for _that_?!

He saw Sean sitting at a lunch table, alone, still in his funk.

_That answers that._

He passed him by, finding the sight just a little on the pathetic side.

Sitting down to eat his own lunch, he found that he had no stomach for it. Looking down at his sandwich, he felt like he didn't need it. He wasn't hungry. He put the sandwich away and let his thoughts wander. He thought of that feeling he had felt when he'd touched her. He had no idea what Emma felt, but he was more than a little appalled with himself. What was WRONG with him?! Having the hots for the Bitch of the Century? He had no idea what he was thinking. He just knew there was something there.

No. No way.

He didn't like her like that. He didn't like her at all.

Glancing toward the school steps, he saw her. She was eating her lunch, watching a group of girls crowded around one of her flyers. They were talking about the play, the flyer, and everything surrounding it. It appeared these girls had no idea the play was that inappropriate. They were glad someone had gotten the guts to spread this around, so they knew exactly what they would be bringing their little brothers and sisters to see.

Emma was watching it all, a mysterious smile lighting her face. She was glad someone appreciated her hard work.

Jay closed his eyes. Inwardly he groaned.

Yes. Yes he did.


	5. The Good Girl

Ok, I think I kinda messed up Jay's character a little in the last chapter. Hope to make up for it in this one!

(())

Film Studies was Emma's next class, and when the bell rang, she didn't know what to do. How was she going to talk to Jay? The asshole spotted her taping flyers, and she knew exactly what he was going to do. He was going to reap her out for protesting the play. She could take his insults.... maybe.... if he didn't touch her... or look her in the eyes.... yeah, then everything would be fine.

She hated to admit it, but something about Jay.... made her more than a little nervous. Not in a scared kind of way. More in a... well, nervous kind of way. Like... well, she didn't know what it was like. It was sort of like she wanted to be good enough for him. But at the same time, she wanted him far, far away. She didn't want to live by anyone's expectations, least of all Jay's.

_Or maybe I'm just scared..._Her mind immediately went to work putting that stray thought back where it could not be heard, but it was too late. Emma stopped in the middle of the hallway, and even as a million thoughts came to contradict the first, she knew which one was right, and it stuck with her the rest of the way to class. It stuck with her until the very minute she opened the door.

That is, until she saw Jay. Then she couldn't think at all.

Sitting at the far end of the classroom, Jay looked up when the door opened. He smiled when he caught sight of her. It wasn't a sarcastic smile, or a teasing smile. It was a... a real smile. An 'I'm Glad To see You' Smile. A smile like that from Jay was enough to make any girl breathless. Emma included.

She ignored the smile, hoping against hope that her heart would slow its beating and her mind would stop coming up with the many pleasant adjectives to describe that smile. She went to her regular seat and sat down quietly. She averted her eyes so she didn't have to look at him, even if she knew that he was looking at her.

_Why is he looking at me?!_ Her mind was computing the thousands of possible reasons his eyes just happened to look her way, when Mrs. Dwight sashayed into the room. Everyone was pretty sure Mrs. Dwight truly dreamed of being an actress, but everyone also knew that she had no talent. But she would pronounce words in a way that made every syllable more 'dramatic'. Plus, she wore long flowing skirts and her hair was always styled some odd way.

"Alright class, settle down. It's time for you all to work on your projects." She clapped her hands together as she peered around the classroom. "Now, does anyone have any questions? Good. Move next to your partners and begin." Emma groaned as the chairs began scraping the floor. The class was moving toward their respective partners, which obviously meant for Emma to follow. She turned to spot Jay, staring at her as he lounged in his desk like a king, smirk on his face.

_De ja vu, anybody?_

Emma clenched her teeth, (_Bite the bullet, Nelson..._), and grabbed a chair in the back next to Jay.

"So..." Jay said nonchalantly, leaning over his desk to smirk at Emma. Emma felt like a lamb caught in the wolves den. She knew she needed to distract herself. She grabbed her notes from yesterday out of her backpack.

"So, I was thinking we'd start with the oldest themes, like the old 'save the endangered damsel' thing, but we can do something else if-" She was cut off when she felt a hand touch her arm.

Looking up, she saw Jay looking at her, usual smirk in place.

"So, I was thinking we'd start with you telling me exactly why you and Cameron called it quits, sound good?"He said, in a low, smooth voice that nearly made Emma want to tell him anything if she could hear it again. _Nearly_ being the operative word.

She wasn't an idiot. She didn't just go crazy over a sexy voice and a pair of baby-blues.

"Why do YOU want to know?" she asked sharply, feeling the need to remind herself she was dealing with the enemy.

Jay smirked, moving his hand away and leaning closer. "I'm curious."

Emma was beginning to get a little nervous. Jay seemed to be... flirting with her?

No way.

(())

Jay was laughing inside. Emma seemed to be trying to distract herself. Jay didn't like that idea. He wanted her attention just where it was needed most.

Of course, that kind of attention would probably have Raditch on their backs in a second, screaming about PDA and inappropriate behavior.

But it would definitely be worth it.

Since lunch period, Jay's mind had been all over Emma Nelson. There was nothing wrong with a little crush. It would be gone within a week. What was the harm indulging it a little? So, he thought about Emma and the irony of the situation. He knew Cameron was still hung up on her. He also knew the girl hated both their guts. Plus, there was the added bonus of her already going out with that DJ. And he was the one who set them up!

Jay found it funny, even if he was involved.

"Mind your own business." Emma said sharply. Jay shook his head, and moved closer to her.

"Cameron _is_ my business, Nelson." he said in a low voice. "I jus' wanna make sure he's been a good little boy." He slid closer to the now visibly nervous Emma.

"Well, if he was, we would still be together, _right?_" Emma countered, moving away from him.

"Go ahead, you can tell me..." He said with a slight smirk. He had her on edge. That was good.

"Would you just drop it?" She said indignantly, glaring at him.

"What, he wasn't stupid enough to try puttin' moves on Degrassi's own little angel, was he?" Jay smirked. He brushed his knee against hers lightly and caught her intake of breath with satisfaction. Emma seemed a little more than terrified. She got up quickly and asked Mrs. Dwight for a bathroom pass.

Jay watched her go with a smirk.

She could run, but she couldn't hide.

Fifteen seconds later, Jay asked for his own bathroom pass, and headed out the door.


	6. Fighting It

Ok, ok! I know, that last cliffie was only too evil of me!!!! Don't kill!

(())

After about five minutes of staring into the bathroom mirror, Emma decided it was stupid for her to hide like this. She opened the door and stepped outside, thanking whoever was up there for making sure no one was in the halls. She was fairly certain Jay's flirting was only a joke at her expense, and she sure wasn't going to go along with it.

Though, even though she hated to admit it, she kinda wished he hadn't been joking.

So what if she had a little crush? It would go away with time. It wasn't permanent. She would just have to let it disappear with time, like these things always do, and go back to the way things were.

Now why didn't she believe that would work?

Walking down the hallway, enveloped in her thoughts, she barely noticed a figure leaning against the wall, arms crossed, smirking like the devil. She stopped and turned to face him. Jay's smirk widened as he saw her stop, and Emma felt like she'd been caught in a trap. She met his stare and stood stock still. She was more than a little nervous. But then again, this is what Jay always made her feel. She flat-out refused to back down this time.

"What do you want, Jay?" Emma was the first to speak.

"Oh, I don't know..." Jay began stalking forward. Emma backed up against the wall on the other side of the hallway. Jay eventually stood in front of her, and put his hand against the wall above her head. Emma knew it. This was a trap. "Why don't we talk for a while..." Jay leaned down and whispered in her ear.

"We can talk when we get back to the classroom. We need to talk anyway, about our theme. We really need to work on it and-" Emma was cut off as Jay spoke.

"Why don't we talk about another theme..." He said, moving closer. "The Good Girl and The Bad Boy. Ya see, the Bad boy always gets into trouble. The Good Girl is drawn to that. The Good Girl is a total priss. The Bad Boy laughs at that. But somewhere along the way, just somewhere, we don't know how..."

Jay moved his body closer to hers, and trailed a finger down her cheek sensually. Emma couldn't help but shiver, then cursed herself for it at the sight of Jay's smirk.

"Somehow... The Bad Boy always gets laid." He whispered, the smirk still plain on his face. Emma turned bright scarlet. Her body seemed to react to everything he was doing, and she wanted to get out of there fast. She nearly gasped as he leaned in to kiss her.

And with the last semblance of control she had, she pushed him away.

He looked down at her, startled.

"But tell me something, Jay. Who's the one who always gets hurt?" With that, she pushed him away and walked back to the classroom.

Something told her that was no joke.

(())

Jay stood in the hallway, dumbstruck.

He couldn't believe he had just tried to KISS her. He felt so stupid! What did he expect?! He knew she hated him, right from the beginning! Plus, what was he doing?! Did he WANT this stupid crush he had on her to grow?! It was like a virus, just killing him a lot slower than the flu. He was going crazy. He didn't know what he wanted, all his mind kept thinking about was Emma, Emma, EMMA.

If anything, he was relieved. Nelson's interruption had saved him a headache.

He headed back to class about five seconds before the bell rang, and grabbed his books. Heading to his next class, he thought about maybe telling Cameron about what had happened. Then he realized he'd probably wind up in the hospital if he even mentioned it. He figured he'd see how it goes, and if the topic comes up, he'd just tell Cameron they're doing a project together.

Social Studies, his last class of the day. Entering the classroom, he immediately spotted Cameron, glowering at everyone from the back of the room.

"Hey, Cameron, you feelin' any better?" Jay asked, sitting down next to him.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just... I saw Emma comin' out of the Film Studies room. I didn't know she had the same class as you."

"Yeah. We got stuck doin' a project together." Jay said, then looked up to catch the look of disbelief and happiness on his face.

"Jay, you can talk to her for me! Tell her I'm sorry!"

"No way, killer. This one's on you. She hates my guts."

"C'mon, Jay! Please, just tell her I miss her." Jay looked up into the pleading eyes of his friend, and finally nodded.

"Yes!" Sean remained elated for the rest of the day, and Jay felt like he was the biggest jackass in history.

(())

"So, movies at my place, or movies at yours?" Emma asked, greeting her boyfriend. Chris nearly jumped he was so surprised.

"Oh, uh, let's go to my place." Chris said, turning back around. Emma looked toward where he was staring, and saw Paige, Hazel, and Spinner chatting on the stairs.

More specifically, she saw Hazel.

"Uh, ok. Let's... go." Emma said, pulling him a little closer and starting to walk. They walked in silence. Emma noticed that Chris was spacing out a lot of the time. Even during the movie.

He couldn't... Like Hazel, could he?


	7. A Moment Of Understanding

Jay sat in the library the next morning. He had gotten there much earlier than any of the other students. It was getting hard for him to think of anything that didn't involve Emma. The chick seemed to be making him crazy nowadays. As he sifted through the stacks of books in front of him, he knew none of them were even remotely interesting. But he had to find something to do to keep his mind off the blonde.

The door of the library creaked open, and Jay looked up, startled. He smiled as he saw it was the blonde herself. She was apparently sneaking in to put up more flyers.

"Hey. Miss me?"He said in a half-whisper. Emma jumped at the sound of his voice, and he nearly laughed. It appeared she wasn't expecting anyone around either.

"What are you doing here?" she asked in a low voice.

"Nothin', really. Need any help?" He asked, getting up and walking toward her slowly. He wasn't surprised when he saw her back up against the wall.

"No. I don't." she said in a voice that sounded more shaky than she would've liked. Jay shook his head and backed her up against the wall again, stealing the papers from her fingers.

"Just let me help you. You'll never get the school covered before people get here. C'mon." He put an arm around her shoulder and started walking her out the door.

They walked in silence for a while, Jay could feel her grow more relaxed as they walked. She seemed to be contemplating something. Something that didn't involve Jay. Jay let it be. She didn't have to be thinking about him all the time. He knew she had issues, too. Some were known all over school, but some he doubted would ever be told. The thing with Sean was stupid, he knew. He wouldn't be giving her any apologies from him.

_Cameron can sing his own damn serenade. I ain't no Cyrano._ He thought as he guided Emma around the school. She was still thinking of something else, completely ignoring his presence.

"Hey, Nelson, what's on your mind?" He questioned, moving his arm enough to take her hand in his. His soft question just barely reached her ears.

"Huh? Oh, nothing." Jay was fairly certain 'nothing' meant 'nothing I'm going to tell you, so there.' He scoffed at the thought. Emma turned to face him, an annoyed look gracing her face like a thin cloud before the sun.

"What's so funny?" She questioned.

"You don't trust me at all, do you?" He said with a laugh.

"That's an understatement." She laughed.

Both laughed for a while, until finally, Emma stopped laughing. Jay could see her eyes cloud over with doubt as she began to think again. Finally, he was too curious. He stopped her and grabbed her other hand.

"If you're going to look like that this entire walk, at least tell me what's makin' you look that way." Emma looked up at him searching his eyes and praying he wouldn't tell if she told.

"I... I think we should go this way now." Emma said quickly, pointing down the hallway. She couldn't tell him, he'd laugh if he knew she was worried about Chris and Hazel. Jay raised an eyebrow at this, but followed.

As they walked along the hallways, Jay began to think of what he could do to help. Obviously, since she wouldn't tell him what was bothering her, he couldn't help her with that. But he could at least help her with the flyers. He tried to think of a way to get them around so everyone would see them.

Then, he got an idea.

"C'mon!" He half-whispered, grabbing Emma's arm and pulling her toward the stairs. She followed him down the hallway, up the stairs, everywhere until he finally got them to the place he was looking for.

The ladder to the roof.

Emma looked at him warily. Then smiled faintly, and started climbing.

(())

On the roof, Emma felt like she was on top of the world. She could see everything, hear everyone... She felt like she really was alive. It was like nothing, and everything. And when Jay came to stand beside her, she felt like she was flying and falling. And she never, ever wanted the feeling to stop. Because if it stopped, it meant they weren't together, on the roof of a school, with flyers in their hands. If it stopped, it meant the world had stopped turning, or maybe it had started up again, she didn't know. All she knew was that Jay was beside her. And they were on the roof of a school. With flyers in their hands.

She looked up at Jay and smiled. He looked down at her and smiled back.

So this is what understanding felt like?

She turned to look down. They were right above the stairs. The students milling around the courtyard didn't notice them at all. They were each living their own lives and dreaming their own dreams. Emma could see Manny, walking into school in a new outfit. And JT and Toby, sitting by the stairs chatting. Liberty was walking into school and flipping through a book at the same time. Spinner and Paige were snuggled on a bench and Jimmy was chatting with Hazel off to the side. Jay could see Sean and the rest of his gang waiting for him by his civic.

All in all, everyone was living. From the roof, Emma and Jay could see each life being lived and each dream being dreamed. They felt something unique and wonderful melt through them as they watched it all. And they felt like their own lives, for a moment, meant nothing.

Finally, Jay turned to look at her and smirked.

"You ready?" He asked, putting an arm around her shoulders.

"Definitely." was all she could reply.

Jay stepped toward the edge, and threw the flyers in his hand down onto the stairs.

Everyone looked up as the papers fell. It was amazing. All eyes were on the roof, yet they remained unseen. Emma grinned and threw her papers as well. The papers fell slowly, lazily, flying with every breeze. People were running up to grab one. Everyone was moving toward the stairs, looking toward the roof, but they could not be seen.

Then she felt arms around her waist. Jay was quickly dragging her toward the door. She giggled and ran with him, but when they got there, the door was opening.

"C'mon!" Jay whispered, grabbing her arm and pulling her back behind a higher section of the roof. Mr. Raditch, the principal, stepped onto the roof.

"Alright, now. Who's up here littering my steps with paper?!" He growled. Jay and Emma crouched further behind the section. Jay wrapped his arms around Emma's waist and pulled her closer. So that she would not be seen, of course.

"Come out, now! Or detention!" Mr Raditch moved toward their section and back to the corner behind where they were sitting. Jay knew this was their chance. He grabbed Emma's arm and they ran toward the ladder.

Mr. Raditch didn't even see them go.

Jay jumped down the ladder and helped Emma down with him. They ran down the dark, normally unused hallways and finally stopped when they reached the hallway of the library. They ducked through the library door quickly, and shut it behind them.

Jay looked at Emma.

Emma looked at Jay.

They both started laughing like maniacs.

They gave each other a high-five as they continued to laugh, and sat down slowly. Jay couldn't believe he had just pulled one over on Raditch with Goody-Two-Shoes as his partner in crime. Emma couldn't believe she had just pulled off the coolest protest she'd ever done with Mr. Convict by her side. Neither one of them could believe just how good it had felt.

As the first bell rang, Emma grabbed her books and looked up at Jay. He was looking back at her with a half-smile on his face. She smiled back, ignoring the butterflies in her stomach.

Walking out the door, she decided that this was the beginning of an interesting friendship.

But was the fact that the entire time on the roof she'd wanted to kiss him going to be a problem?


	8. Comfortable Tension

Sorry this is so late. Writers Block plus Distractions really really suck.

Film Studies was the next class, and Jay was smiling as the clock ticked. He couldn't wait to see her again. Her. The stubborn little blonde with an obsession with the environment who had taken his heart right from his chest. Emma. She felt like something to him now. The smile, the way she looked on the roof, wind playing with her hair... He'd wanted to kiss her so much, his heart was aching.

What about Chris? And Sean? Emma wasn't just his to take. For the first time in his life, he couldn't just take what he saw. He had to tread carefully. Emma was beautiful, intelligent, stubborn, creative, and.... taken. By that DJ, and soon by Sean again. That stupid cycle he'd once found so funny, now wasn't so funny anymore. Now that he was involved...

Hell, two other guys were fighting for the same girl as he was!

Jesus, he was in deep. This was bad. But it was good at the same time. No one had any idea, so it was okay. It was a crush. It would go away soon enough.

_No it isn't. And no, it wont. Face it, man. You've got it bad._ As the bell rang, Jay shook the thought from his head. Knowing the rest of the situation, he could not let this progress any further than a crush.

Walking through the hallways much slower than usual, Jay could barely hear the people around him. His mind was focused on other things. He had a gang, remember? A gang that stole things. Like laptops. And DVD Players. A gang that would probably become useless without him or Cameron. And the way things were going, one of them was going to wind up in intensive care. And it didn't look like Sean was going to leave it alone. Emma was... amazing. She deserved someone who loved her as much as Sean. Jay was fairly sure what he felt for her was purely physical, so why rock the boat?

_So I've got the hots for the chick, so what?_ Had become his hourly mantra.

Reaching the door of the Film Studies room, Jay walked in cautiously. Emma was sitting at a table in the back. She was writing furiously in a notebook and didn't seem to notice he was there. Her hair was falling into her face, but she just blew it away quickly before she started writing again. Finally, she looked up and saw him. She smiled.

When time stops, does your heart still beat? Jay couldn't tell, he was too busy trying to capture that smile forever. Her sweet-as-sugar grin was enough to put angels to shame. All he could do was smile back.

She waved him over and he snapped out of it. He felt like a stupid idiot for staring like that. He cursed himself as he sat down in front of her and smirked.

"Good job this morning, Nelson. Almost got us caught." He smirked.

"Me?! You were the one who-" She stopped as she saw he was laughing. "Oh, gee, thanks for givin' me a heart-attack." She laughed along with him and took out her notebooks.

"What were you writin' earlier?" Jay asked, trying to look at her notebook. Emma pulled it away.

"Jeez, you're so curious all the time." She said, putting it in her backpack.

"I'm a curious kind of guy." He said with a grin.

"Never mind that. Listen, I rented a few movies to watch. Maybe you can come over tonight to watch them, if you're not too busy." She said. She was rifling through her backpack so Jay couldn't catch the look on her face. She pulled out a pen and notebook, ripping out a blank page. She began writing her address down, but Jay put a hand on her arm.

"I could just walk you there after school. It's easier that way." He said. She looked up at him a nervous smile.

"I have to clean the place up. It's a mess." She said with a sheepish smile. Jay smirked at the thought, thinking of his own more-than-messy abode.

"S'ok. I don't care. I'll meet you after school." Jay said in a low voice. Emma nodded before turning back to her notes.

The rest of that class passed in a long, but comfortable, silence.

(())

Emma walked outside and sat on the Degrassi stairs. She looked around for Jay, but didn't see him. She was startled when she felt someone sit down next to her. Looking up, she saw it was Chris. He gave her a smile that warmed her heart and put an arm around her. She snuggled closer to him. She loved having a boyfriend like Chris.

"So, how was your day?" he asked, smiling sweetly.

"Pretty good. I started really working on that project and-" She trailed off as she noticed Chris seemed to be spacing out. She rolled her eyes.

"And then me and Jay started making out in the middle of the hallway, and he grabbed my-"

"Huh? What?" _It appears I finally have his attention._ She smiled at him as he turned toward her.

"Sounds promising..." came a voice from behind her. She whipped around to see Jay sitting on the steps behind them, casual smirk in place. Her heart sped up at the sight of him. She blushed, realizing he'd heard what she had said, and hearing his response. He simply smirked and took the spot next to her, not giving Chris a second look. He had more important things to do.

"Oh, hey Jay. I was just trying to catch Chris's attention away from what he was thinking about. He seemed like not even a bomb blast could snap him out of it."

"I see..." Leaning over, Jay whispered in Chris's ear just loud enough to be heard. "Next time you decide to stare at the Aden chick, make sure your girlfriend's not around. Okay?" Chris whipped his head around to look at Jay, who smirked and stood.

"Ready to go?" He asked, looking toward Emma with a small smile. She nodded and stood.

"Sure. See ya Chris. Call me later." With that, she walked away with Jay. As they walked they couldn't help but smile. It felt so comfortable... Just walking like that felt like it was perfect.

As they reached Emma's front door, Emma opened it with ease.

She wasn't nervous at all.

Not one bit.

Ok, maybe a little...


	9. Fun Times

Hey, people, guess what?

I got my first flame. You know what that means, right?

IT'S STAYING EMMA/JAY NO MATTER WHAT!!!

happy reviewers throw confetti and cheer. Small, insignificant, tiny little ANT of a flamer grumbles in a dark corner

(())

In a way, this was probably Jay's first real chance to do something about his feelings for Emma. He was incredibly, insanely, undeniably nervous. He'd never really felt this way about a girl before. Emma was just.... perfect, in a crazy kind of way. He wanted to be sure he didn't screw it up. He had to move carefully, proceed with caution.

_And whatever you do, DO NOT bring up Cameron. I repeat: DO NOT bring up Cameron._

As he finished mentally drilling that one rule into his brain, he stepped through her front door. Her house seemed nicely coordinated, only really lacking in neatness. The stairs had bags of groceries on them, as well as baby toys. Looking into the living room, he spotted more toys, papers, and a stack of movies on top of a VHS/DVD player. He walked in a little further, slowly, and then turned to face Emma.

"Mess? What mess?" She smiled, becoming a lot less tense. Looking toward the stack of movies, Jay went through them idly. Most of them were pretty old, but there were some newer ones. As he perused the titles, he watched Emma out of the corner of his eye. She was moving things around, picking up baby toys and putting them beside the couch. Finally, she sat down and looked up at him cheerfully.

"Well? Pick one and let's get started." She said, picking up her notebook. Jay sighed and popped a movie into the VHS player.

As the movie started, Jay found it was getting increasingly harder to pay attention. Emma was taking notes avidly, and keeping her entire focus on the screen. He was certain she had forgotten he was even there.

"Would you like some popcorn? I can go make some." She asked, pausing the movie.

"Sure. Ok." He said. He stood to follow her into the kitchen.

"So, what do you think of the movie so far?" She asked nonchalantly, finding a box of _Pop Secret._

"Huh?" Jay hadn't even been watching.

"I thought it was alright. I've seen it a million times, though." Jay was relieved. She didn't seem to notice his slightly less-than-intelligent response.

"Uh, yeah. Same here." he mumbled. She handed him a can of soda and sat down to wait for the popcorn to pop. He sat down next to her and opened his soda can.

As they waited, Jay was feeling more than a little uneasy. He liked this chick. No, really liked her. In other words, he REALLY didn't want to screw this up. Not that it wasn't screwed up already.

The thought of Emma being with that DJ sent his blood boiling. It was hard NOT to notice the looks he was giving the Aden chick. Why Emma didn't notice was beyond him. He knew exactly how smart she was. He wanted nothing more than to sucker-punch the asshole. Of course, that would definitely not be good for his and Emma's relationship.

And then there was Cameron. That was an entirely different deal.

He looked up at Emma and sighed.

"Well, blondie, I'm bored out of my damn mind. Tell me more about this stupid play, if you're so against it." Emma turned to him and rolled her eyes.

"It's this stupid musical thing. Starts off, there's this guy and his girlfriend lying in bed together. He's leaving for the army next morning and all that. He gets there, and he misses this girl terribly, but there's another woman who is very ill, or insane, or something like that. And she falls in love with him. He can't shake this girl no matter how hard he tries." She shrugged. "But in the end he ends up falling for her anyway, and they have sex, and she dies that night, and he has to be locked away in an asylum."

"... Charming." Came Jay's sarcastic reply.

"I know, right?" she answered, removing the popcorn from the microwave.

They moved back into the living room and Emma sat down. She scooted over for Jay, who sat close enough to touch her. They continued watching the movie in silence. Jay's mind strayed from the movie to the girl next to him. He couldn't help it, he had to say something about the DJ.

"Emma, listen. I know I'm a jackass for saying this, but I think your DJ-"

"Likes Hazel Aden?" She finished. "I know. I thought so too, at first." She moved closer to Jay and smiled. "But then I realized they're probably just good friends. I've seen the way he looks at her and that's how I know."

"What are you talkin' about? I saw it too, and that was no friendly look." Jay was shocked that Emma couldn't see that.

"Well, it's the same way you look at me... that's how I know." She said, smiling.

_....No Comment._

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AN: Ok, you guys. Writer's block REALLY sucks. I'm hoping this trip that I'm going on will help me out. I'll update a.s.a.i.g.i. (As Soon As I Get Inspiration)


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